Sunrise 6:08 AM   Sunset 7:43 PM Moonrise 9:54 PM   Moonset 6:49 AM

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FXUS66 KHNX 251950 AFDHNX

Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Hanford CA 1250 PM PDT Thu Apr 25 2024



KEY MESSAGES
1. A High Wind Warning has been issued for the Kern County Mountains and Mojave Desert Slopes valid through 11 pm Friday.
2. A cooling trend back to just below seasonal normals lasting through Friday.
3. The next storm system will impact Central California Friday with mountain snow, foothills rain, and a chance of valley thunderstorms.
4. A warming trend begins on Sunday and will last through the week ahead with dry conditions.

DISCUSSION
A tight pressure gradient influenced by the low pressure system moving east and the high pressure ridge off the coast of California will bring light rain, snow, thunderstorms, and wind to the area. For winds particularly, Kern County will see the majority of the high winds. There is a greater than 85% chance of wind gusts higher than 45 miles per hour throughout the eastern part of Kern County. Highest winds will be observed in the typical windy zones, the Mojave Desert Slopes, where the probabilities of 60 mile per hour winds are 85-90%. As such, a Wind Advisory has been issued for much of eastern Kern County, and a High Wind Warning has been issued for the Mojave Desert slopes through 11pm PDT tomorrow evening.

Alongside these winds and with the storm system moving in, temperatures will continue to be cooler than normal through tomorrow, with high temperatures roughly 7-10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year.

As another low pressure system forms and drops southward just to the east of the state, there will be a chance for thunderstorms.
These thunderstorms will mostly be in the Sierra Nevada and foothills, but there is a chance for some of the thunderstorms to make their way into the San Joaquin Valley and northern Kern County. Here are probabilities for select locations to see thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon and evening:

Yosemite Valley/Mariposa/Oakhurst/Shaver Lake: 25% Tioga Pass: 22% Grant Grove: 23% Fresno/Visalia: 18% Merced/Madera: 17%

As the second low pressure system progresses eastward through the weekend, zonal flow will take over, warming temperatures back up and bringing dry conditions back to the area. Beginning Sunday, temperatures will begin warming back up, reaching roughly 7-10 degrees above normal for this time of year by the middle of next week.


AVIATION
A low VFR ceiling will continue until 21Z. The Sierra and Kern County Mountains may have localized mountain MVFR obscurations.
The Kern County and Mojave Desert has a high probability of surface wind sustaining above 30 KTS through the TAF period.
Otherwise, VFR conditions will prevail throughout Central California for at least the next 24 hours.

AIR QUALITY ISSUES
ISSUED: 04/24/2024 14:25 EXPIRES: 04/25/2024 23:59 None.

CERTAINTY

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is medium.
The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is medium.

Certainty levels include low
medium
and high. Please visit www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.html for additional information and/or to provide feedback.

HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
High Wind Warning until 11 PM PDT Friday for CAZ338.
Wind Advisory until 11 PM PDT Friday for CAZ331-333-334-337- 339.

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San Joaquin Valley, CA,